Posted: August 19th, 2022

The OJ Simpson Criminal Trial

The OJ Simpson Criminal Trial
The unresolved brutal murders of Ronald L. Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson are among the many most mentioned circumstances in current historical past. Orenthal James (O.J) Simpson was a proper skilled Nationwide Soccer League (NFL) and actor, in addition to the Ex-husband to the late Nicole Brown (Bienen, & Geis, 2016). O.J Simpson was the principle suspect of those murders, and though the courtroom did not discover him responsible, many individuals within the courtroom of public opinion imagine that he was the assassin. This paper discusses intimately the particular person of O.J. Simpson, the occasions that transpired on the time of those murderers, and the opinion of the courtroom relating to this case.
OJ Simpson’s Background and Profession Earlier than His Trial
O.J. Simpson was born in 1947 in San Francisco, California. Simpson attended faculty, the place he performed American Soccer on the College of Southern California (Shapiro & Warren, 2016). Upon completion of his faculty training, Simpson was instantly recruited to the Nationwide Soccer League draft group 1969 (Shapiro & Warren, 2016). Simpson turned out for the San Francisco 49ers as a operating again. At one time, Simpson was recognized to be among the many greatest operating backs within the historical past of the sport. Sadly, Shapiro and Warren (2016) observe that when the identify O.J Simpson is talked about, most individuals do not bear in mind the person who as soon as rushed greater than 11,00zero yards and scored 61 touchdowns. As a substitute, Simpson is remembered for the murders of his ex-wife and her pal Ronald L. Goldman
Simpson had married Nicole Brown in 1985, and the wedding was rocked with violence with quite a few circumstances of abuse to his spouse being reported (Anolik, 2014). For example, in 1989, Simpson pleaded no contest when a cost of spousal battery was introduced towards him in courtroom (Anolik, 2014). Nicole Brown would later depart Simpson in 1992 after filling for a divorce. Two years later, on June 12, 1994, she was slashed to loss of life alongside her pal Ronald Goldman on the entrance yard of her condominium in Brentwood Los Angeles (Anolik, 2014). O.J. Simpson was the principle suspect of those murders due to their troubled previous.
Why OJ Simpson Was Arraigned and the Fees Introduced Towards Him
The Night time of Homicide
At about 6:30 pm, On June 12, 1994, Nicole Simpson was accompanied by her youngsters and others to dinner on the Mezzaluna restaurant (Bienen & Geis, 2016). After taking their dinner and leaving the restaurant, Nicole Simpson’s sister referred to as the restaurant at about 9:15 pm the identical night to report that her mom had forgotten her glasses there. Across the identical time between 9:00-9:30 pm, O.J. Simpson and his pal Brian Kaelin dine on the McDonald’s, and the 2 went again to O.J.’s home after dinner the place they arrived at about 9:45 pm (Bienen & Geis, 2016). At 9:50 pm, Ronald Goldman arrives on the Mezzaluna restaurant to select Nicole’s mom’s glasses, the place he’s handed an envelope containing the stated glasses (Bienen & Geis, 2016). At about 10:15 pm, Nicole’s neighbor, who was watching tv on the time, experiences that he heard the cries and barks of a canine. Primarily based on this proof, the prosecution theorized that these cries and barks sign the time at which Nicole and Goldman had been murdered (Bienen & Geis, 2016).
At round 10:25 pm, Allan Park experiences that he arrived on the O.J.’s property to select O.J, who was scheduled to journey to Chicago with an 11.45 pm flight the identical night time (Pemberton, 2013). In his assertion, Brian Kaelin reported that he heard three very loud thumps coming from the visitor home outdoors wall at round 10:40pm. Across the identical time, Park reported that between 10:40-10:55 pm, he buzzed on O.J.’s intercom severally with none response coming. Park provides that he noticed a shadowy determine at 10:58 pm, which crossed the driveway headed in direction of O.J.’s residence (Pemberton, 2013). He described the determine to be an individual who was roughly 6 toes tall and about 200 kilos. Allan Park who was now getting impatient tried to buzz on O.J. gate for one final time and O.J. answered (Pemberton, 2013). O.J. instructed Park that he had simply bought out from showering after having overslept earlier. O.J. departs for Chicago at precisely 11:45pm on board an American Airways flight (Pemberton, 2013). On the identical night time, the our bodies of Ronald L. Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson are found at 12:10 am outdoors Nicole Simpson’s townhome glasses (Bienen & Geis, 2016). The two our bodies have contemporary stab wounds on them.
The Days After
The detectives dealing with this case arrived on the O.J.’s residence at round 5:00 am. The solely proof collected on the crime scene was a dark-grey knitted hat and a bloody glove that are thought to have been left behind by the killer. There was additionally a bloody footprint that was left in O.J.’s property driveway glasses (Bienen & Geis, 2016). Detective Ron Phillips knowledgeable O.J. Simpson in regards to the murders instantly his flight landed in Chicago. O.J. responded with a Question Assignment; “who killed her?” glasses (Bienen & Geis, 2016). The LAPD took O.J. Simpson into custody instantly he arrived from Chicago, and he was questioned for almost three hours earlier than being launched.
O.J. Simpson was charged with two homicide accounts on June 17, 1994, glasses (Bienen & Geis, 2016). Nonetheless, as a substitute of turning himself over to the police, O.J. famously did not give up, resulting in him being declared a fugitive. As a consequence, O.J., who was in his white Ford Bronco, needed to be chased by police alongside the Southern California freeways with this chase being televised (Mydans, 1994). His pal Al Cowlings was the motive force whereas O.J. Simpsons sat on the passenger’s seat. Cowlings later instructed the police that he did not cease as a result of O.J, who was on the time suicidal, had been holding a gun to his head, commanding him to proceed driving (Mydans, 1994). Because the investigations continued, detectives discovered a suicide observe with very alarming contents, the place he professed his love for his spouse and his innocence (Mydans, 1994). Later that day, Simpson surrendered himself to the LAPD at round eight:50 pm.
The Size of the Trial
In response to Bienen and Geis (2016), the O.J. Simpson trial was dubbed because the trial of the century, primarily due to the extent of publicity it had obtained each domestically and internationally. The trial of this case started on November 9, 1994, when the Jury’s swearing-in was performed. On January 24, 1995, the opening statements of the case had been made, and on November 9, 1994, the ultimate verdict was introduced (Bienen & Geis, 2016). Within the verdict, Simpson was acquitted for the 2 homicide counts he had been charged with. As such, the general size of this trial spanned over eleven months, which was longer than one other trial in California historical past.
The Choose, Prosecutor and Protection Legal professional(S) Concerned within the Case
The trial was presided over by Choose Lance Ito on the C.S. Foltz Criminal Courts Constructing (Bienen & Geis, 2016).
There have been two main prosecutors on this case, particularly; Christopher Darden and Marcia Clark, who each had been Deputy District Attorneys (Skolnick & Shaw, 2010). The designated lead prosecutor was Marcia Clark, whereas Christopher Darden was his co-counsel. Prosecutors William Hodgman and Hank Goldberg, who each have a report of prosecuting excessive profile circumstances, additionally Helped Darden and Clark. Moreover, two extra DNA specialists’ prosecutors, George “Woody” Clarke and Rockne Harmon had been added to the group of prosecutors to current the DNA proof (Skolnick & Shaw, 2010).
O.J. Simpson was introduced by a group of legal professionals who had been popularly known as the dream group attributable to their wealth of expertise and the excessive standing that they had been held with (Skolnick & Shaw, 2010). This group of legal professionals is claimed to have prices O.J. Simpson an estimated $50,00zero per day, an quantity which Simpson reportedly paid partially by promoting his soccer promoting soccer memorabilia (Skolnick & Shaw, 2010). Johnnie Cochran and Robert Kardashian headed O.J.Simpson authorized group, which included different legal professionals like Robert Shapiro, F. Lee Bailey, Barry Scheck, and Alan Dershowitz (Skolnick & Shaw, 2010). Regardless of the prosecutor presenting sturdy proof earlier than the courtroom, this dream group of authorized counsels was in a position to poke holes efficiently and lift doubts with reference to how the proof was dealt with.
The Jury Choice Course of
In October 1994, the lead Choose Lance Ito started the method of interviewing about 304 potential jurors (Skolnick & Shaw, 2010). These Jurors needed to fill out a questionnaire, which was 75 pages in size. This course of resulted within the number of twelve jurors on November three with one other twelve standing by as options (Skolnick & Shaw, 2010). Nonetheless, Skolnick and Shaw (2010) add that in the course of the trial course of, 10 Jurors ended up being dismissed for numerous causes. From the unique jurors, solely 4 of them remained within the closing panel.
The Proof Launched In Trial by the Prosecution and Protection
Throughout the trial, the prosecution opted to not pursue the loss of life penalty however as a substitute search a life sentence. The prosecution’s case revolved round circumstantial proof to determine that Simpson had bodily and motive proof to determine that he had the chance and means to commit the 2 murders. A mean whole comprising of 488 items of proof had been introduced earlier than the Jury, though there have been no homicide witnesses or homicide weapon discovered (Shapiro & Warren, 2016). The bodily proof introduced in courtroom comprised of traditional forensic sciences reminiscent of shoe print Assessment, hair, and fiber(Shapiro & Warren, 2016). Moreover, Shapiro and Warren, 2016) urged that new forensic sciences comprising of serology and DNA fingerprinting was used.
The protection group used the affordable doubt principle, and within the opening assertion, this proof was summarized as contaminated, compromised, and corrupted. In response to the Folks Journal (2019), the protection argued that the introduced DNA proof towards O.J. Simpson had been compromised as a result of mishandling by criminalist Andrea Mazzola and Dennis Fung on the proof assortment stage. The prosecution pressured that this comprised of the proof introduced meant that just about 100% of the killer’s DNA had disappeared from the samples of proof introduced (PEOPLE Journal, 2019). The protection legal professionals additionally argued that this proof had additionally been contaminated by Collin Yamauchi, who the criminalist was dealing with it on the LAPD crime lab. Moreover, Simpson’s DNA, which was from his reference vial, ended up being transferred to all of the displays other than three of them (PEOPLE Journal, 2019). Nonetheless, the protection argued that these three remaining displays had been planted by the investigating police, which implies that that they had been corrupted via the motion of police fraud. Lastly, of their protection, the protection counsel additionally questioned the prosecution timeline, arguing that these murders had taken place at round 11:00 pm on the stated night time of the homicide (PEOPLE Journal, 2019).
The Points the Prosecution and Protection Run Into In Presenting Proof
Whereas arguing for the protection, Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck urged that the DNA testing outcomes had been unreliable primarily as a result of sloppiness of the police on the subject of preserving and accumulating the proof on the crime scene (Chakravart et al., 2017). This compromised declare had been supported by the concept that each Mazzola and Fung had admitted to creating quite a few errors when accumulating the proof. For example, among the many errors dedicated included the truth that they did not change their gloves when dealing with totally different proof objects throughout packaging or storing the collected proof in plastic baggage (Chakravart et al., 2017). Moreover, as a substitute of utilizing the beneficial paper baggage and storing the collected proof in a refrigerated setting, the proof had been dealt with unprofessionally because it had been positioned on a police van and stayed unrefrigerated for greater than seven hours (Chakravart et al., 2017). As such, based on Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, dealing with the proof on this method would imply that it was contaminated because it allowed micro organism to degrade the DNA from the “actual killer(s)” (Chakravart et al., 2017). This growth meant that the DNA samples introduced in courtroom had been extra more likely to have been cross-contamination whereas on the LAPD crime lab.
In response to those claims raised by the defendants, the prosecution argued that though criminalist Andrea Mazzola and Dennis Fung admitted having dedicated errors whereas dealing with the proof on this case, none of those errors would have altered the validated of those outcomes. In distinction, all introduced proof samples had been simply testable (Chakravart et al., 2017). The prosecution additional argued that almost all of the DNA testing had been executed at two separate consulting labs however not on the LAPD crime lab, the place it’s alleged that the contamination supposedly befell (Chakravart et al., 2017). Moreover, the prosecution held that since all of the samples from the obtained consulting labs had been testable, the idea introduced by the protection counsels Scheck and Neufeld that this proof had been compromised after being degraded by nearly100% did not maintain any water (Chakravart et al., 2017). Furthermore, the prosecution additionally rejected the concept that this contamination had occurred throughout the LAPD crime lab. To Help their place, the prosecution introduced the argument that had the police contaminated the proof type the true killers as urged by mixing blood from the victims and that of the homicide, the ensuing combination would have proven each blood sorts (Chakravart et al, 2017). As a substitute, on this case, the proof from the DNA samples revealed that solely Simpson’s DNA had been current. The prosecution provides that the protection had declined to make any problem on the outcomes introduced earlier than the courts by testing this proof themselves (Chakravart et al., 2017). As such, Marcia Clark, whereas submitting for the prosecution, referred to as the arguments introduced by Scheck and Neufeld, a smokescreen.
To counter the prosecution argument, the protection introduced in microbiologist Dr. John Gerdes who elaborated on the contamination claims. Dr. John Gerdes testified that Forensic DNA is unreliable and that the LAD crime lab had displayed substantial obvious issues on the subject of contamination of this proof (Chakravart et al., 2017). Moreover, Dr. John Gerdes additionally argued that LAPD’s crime lab had a historical past of proof contamination, which implies that he would not think about any of the DNA matches introduced earlier than the courtroom to be dependable since their exams had been undertaken by the identical lab (Chakravart et al., 2017).
Nonetheless, Dr. Gerdes admitted throughout cross-examination that there had been no proof to recommend that cross-contamination had taken place, and his testimony was primarily based on what was more likely to have occurred however not what occurred. Dr. John Gerdes agreed to the concept that the blood of the victims was within the Bronco whereas Simpson’s blood appeared on the crime scene, and in each circumstances, none of this was because of contamination (Chakravart et al., 2017). Moreover, Dr. John Gerdes admitted that there was nothing occurring at each the delivery and packaging of this proof to have an effect on the outcomes or validity of the consulting laboratories. As such, the prosecution dismissed Dr. John Gerdes claiming that he can’t be used as a reputable witness for this case since he lacked forensics expertise, and he hadn’t collected proof or undertaken any DNA exams (Chakravart et al., 2017). The prosecution additionally famous that Dr. John Gerdes had additionally examined greater than 23 instances on earlier events. In every of those circumstances, he had made related claims that the DNA proof introduced was unreliable due to contamination (Chakravart et al., 2017). As such, Dr. John Gerdes’s proof was dismissed by the prosecution to be extremely unbelievable.
The Jury Vote and the Verdict
Earlier than the Jury bought downvoting, they made the purpose that their choice would not be primarily based on home violence, race, or Simpson’s stature in society. As a substitute they pressured the purpose that their choice could be solely primarily based on the proof introduced earlier than the courtroom (Cotterill, 2007). As such, when all proof introduced earlier than the courtroom was thought-about, the Jury got here to a verdict that O.J. Simpson was not responsible, a call that took 4 hours to reach at. Nonetheless, though O.J. Simpson ended up being acquitted for each counts of murders, the 2 sufferer’s households sued him for his or her wrongful loss of life (Cotterill, 2007). As a consequence, Cotterill (2007) provides that the civil trial began in October 1996, and in lower than 4 months later, the Jury within the second trial discovered Simpson liable for these two deaths of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. As a consequence, the courtroom awarded the 2 households a sum of $33.5 million for damages that O. J. Simpson was imagined to pay (Cotterill, 2007).

References
Anolik, L. (2014). How O. J. Simpson Killed Fashionable Tradition. Retrieved from https://www.vanityfair.com/fashion/society/2014/06/oj-simpson-trial-reality-tv-pop-culture
Bienen, L. B., & Geis, G. (2016). Crimes Of The Century: From Leopold and Loeb to O.J. Simpson. Northeastern College Press.
Chakravarti, S., Potter, C., Hemmer, N., Petrzela, N. M., Younger, N. J., Soroko, A., & Gottlieb, D. (2017, September 5). The OJ Simpson Verdict, Jury Nullification and Black Lives Matter: The Energy to Acquit. Retrieved from https://publicseminar.org/2016/08/the-oj-simpson-verdict-jury-nullification-and-black-lives-matter-the-power-to-acquit/
Cotterill, J. (2007). If it doesnt match, you need to acquit: metaphor and the O.J. Simpson felony trial. Worldwide Journal of Speech Language and the Regulation, 5(2), 141–158. doi: 10.1558/ijsll.v5i2.141
Gordon, W. L. (2010). Reflections of a Criminal Protection Lawyer on the Simpson Trial. Journal of Social Points, 53(three), 417–424. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1997.tb02119.x
Heiss, B. (2018, Could three). Was O.J. Simpson’s Blood Planted on the Homicide Scene? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eGQwoM5CZs
Mydans, S. (1994, June 18). Simpson Is Charged, Chased, Arrested. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/18/us/the-simpson-case-the-fugitive-simpson-is-charged-chased-arrested.html
Pemberton, P. S. (2013, February 16). Limo driver for O.J. Simpson the night time of the killings had a quieter life in Paso after the trial. Retrieved from https://www.sanluisobispo.com/information/native/article39436707.html
PEOPLE Journal . (2019). Folks True Crime Tales the trial of o.j. simpson; S.l.: PEOPLE.
Shapiro, R. L., & Warren, L. (2016). The seek for justice: a protection attorneys temporary on the O.J. Simpson case. Los Angeles, CA: Graymalkin Media.
Skolnick, P., & Shaw, J. I. (2010). The O. J. Simpson Criminal Trial Verdict: Racism or Standing Protect? Journal of Social Points, 53(three), 503–516. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1997.tb02125.x
Sylvestermonroe. (2017, August 30). Black America was cheering for Cochran, not O.J. Retrieved from https://theundefeated.com/options/black-america-was-cheering-for-cochran-not-o-j/
THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Excerpts of Opening Statements by Simpson Prosecutors. (1995, January 25). Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-25-mn-24229-story.html

Order | Check Discount

Tags: The OJ Simpson Criminal Trial